Airship.



H. .LA V. TWINING.

Amm?.

APPLIUATUN YILEDUAR.1909.

1.636,63 3.. meme@ Aug. zo, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ommen Hamer vanne TWDTING, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

Ainsi-TIP.

To all lwhom it may concern -Be it known that I, HARRY LA VERNE TwININo, a citizen of the United States, re- Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, lState of California, have invented Acertaln newand useful Improvements in Airsh'ips, of

ication.

' My invention pertains to airships, and it has special reference to the type known as aviplanes,

which the following is a speciconstructed and of bird flight, in -which launching and sailing is brought about and maintained wholly by the action of oscillating or beating wings,and ,wherein the stability both fore 'and aft and laterally "shall be wholly under, the-control of the operator. v

The object of my invention 1s first, to

'provide a structural arrangement of the wings so wing 'at .the ward of the weight, and crator in the frame maybe frame and `tl1at the hinged frame will be4 orwhereby theopable to so rock the frame fore and aft, while exerting a` force against the wings, as to permit him` to readily overcome any tendency to tilt for-A ward, orto correct adownward pitch of the apparatus, while ndt in the least interfering with the manual operationof the machine. providing a p'eculiar shape and ycurvature o lwings so as to kprovidefor taking in the air along the who e anterior edge, and also along the inner end, and along a portion of the rear edge, during the upward and downward stroke, While on .the other hand the air is expelled rearwardly and obliquely along only a portion of the posterior edge. Third, in 'the lpeculiar hinging of the wing joints with the frame atits upfacilitate maneuvering on the part of the operator. Fourth, arconstruction of levers, and their connection with the wings and body whereby not only the weight of the operator, but also his muscular power may be exerted to the utmost to impart en` ergy tothe wings, all of which'will now be set forth in detail..

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 .at A in Fig. l, showing the formation of eddies above andunderneath the wing...

' type of enginery may be employed as a mofoot levers Specicatlon of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 20, 1912. appunti@ 1aed umh a, 1909. serial no.

In the constructi herein shown, it isdesl of my invention as o c b be operated, but 1t 1s obvious that any :suitable tive power.

-My principal object herein is to setfort-h i Ithe principles involved and to cover by later applications such mechanical structures as e maybe necessary to utilize the power employed.

In the present instance I provide ahody inthe form of a frame 7, preferably made rectangular in plan, t lower rectangle 8 being wider than the upper rectangle. 9,

upper and lower rectangles, to serve as supports for the wing bearin `s 12, one of which rocks between each pair o posts. The'wing arm 12S-which projects beyond the body ries the wing 14, yond the bearin a' ball and soci carand' at av suitable poixit be- 12 1s abearing 15, which by n et connects the dependent link 16, with a rearwardly-projecting foot lever 17. The forward end of the foot le# ver 1s attached to a bearing 18, betweenthe two upright posts 10. foot Ilever bears the foot pedal 19. A Each bearing 12 has an inwardly p'r0jectlng arm 20, so that these two ends 5 are substantiallyr the 'same distance interiorly from.

The rear end of the the bearings 12 as the bearings 15 are '.be# f yond the bearings 12. The forward end of the hand levers 23 connect to a an'ng 22, carried by two upright posts 21. The -rear end of the hand levers 23 bear suitable han- I illes 25. These levers pass beneathrthe in-U of 'arm 20,^and an intervening" seen that the hand levers are above-the oot4 levers, and are so disposed'tlgat when the wings are horizontal, asshownl in the li ures, the body of the operator, when stan loo' mg on the foot levers, is erect, with the ands grasping the hand lever In operating draw up -the levers 23, and the-body being thus `wholly Vbe exerted in the .the weight er" of the wings,."causing the f rise,"'and3asthe'downward isrelaxed and the frame tends to,i fall `the rebtion' of the. air: underthe wings the apparatus the handsz.

A101i on the footlesupports the body from falling, precisely the lsaule as 1n the of a bird, which depends for sustaining itself in flight, so farl as the purely vertical motion is concerned, on the two reactions thus obtained.

In order to more fullycxemplify the action of the apparatus, it will be 4necessary to point out the structural arrangement and formation of the wings andtheir points o f union with the frame.

The wing formation approximates'- the bird structure, but in a general way it may be observed that the anterior rib 13 projects out laterally from its" bearing thus forming'a straight edge. The wing, fore and aft, is greater at the hinged end, terminating at a narrow pointed end, with the posterior edge slightly curved. The forward rib is curved upwardly, land fore and aft the wing has also a curvature, shown substantially in Figs. 2 and 3, the rear edge, transversely, having -a greater upward curvature than thefront end when in action,

due to the fact that while the forward edge is rigid the rear edge, midway between its' ends has a flexure which in itsphysical action serves an important purpose. The pward flexnre of the wing atits posterior edgefis greater along that portion between A and l" Fig. 1. In this connection also it should be noted thatthe fore and4 aft rib 27,

which forms the inner end of the wing,

while it is rigidlyattached to the anterior-- rib, will have more or less flexure in the direction of its movement, not however of as great an amplitude as the space between the rib Q7 and the extreme outer end, and it is obvious thatthc degree of movement thus permissible is dependent on the Weight of the operatorand can only be determined experimentally. During the upward move-A ment of the stroke of the wing, and While there is a 'progressively forward movement, the Aair passes beneath the wing at all points alongthe. anterior edge as well as at the inner end of the wing, and also along a portion of the posterior edge, :is indicated by the darts 2S, in Fig. l, but .on the down stroke the tlexure ot the wing'surlace directs the air out obliquely, that is, the great mass of air confined beneath the wings, as shown by the darts 29. During theupstroke and downstroke of the wing the action-of the, air currents .is represented by `l`igs. I and 2,' in which it will be observed.'

large measure, tothe curved" formation of" the wing.4 The actionfot' the wing, there# fore, iv: its oscillating movement'. vertically,

`action of the bird wingi's simulated.

produces a rocking motion on a horizontal glane while in (light, 'whereby the. physical It is to be observed that an area of low pressure is created by the vibrating wing, and that the air'rushes toward the top and toward the under side of the wing, and out at the rear'tip only, this result being secured bythe peculiar shape of the wing together with its `unique 'attachment to the frame. It is .also obvious that the wings work independently, the one ofthe other,

so that they can beat se arately or in unison. As the anterior edge o the wing is attached to the front upper edge of the frame, the center of gravity of the frame is behind and below the point of attachment.

The operator stands on the pedals 19, grasping thevhand levers 17 by thehandles 25, which brings the center of gravity of the operator behind the attachment of the wing to the framethus brin ing the center of gravity ofthe frame an operatorv working Aload behind the point of attachment of the wing tothe frame. The hand and foot le'- vers can bel so adjustedl vertically as to bringthe center of gravity ofthe frame and operating load either above, below or in line with the pointtof attachment of the wing to the frame. In practice the levers areso arranged. as to brmg the center ofgravity of I the lframe and operatin load'- far enough below the point of attac limentof the win tothe frame to secure the greatest fore and atstability combined-with the greatest sen- Sitiveness of the. machine. As'the surface ofl the wing, ,-projectsfjrearwardly, unttached: to'th'e? frame eloeptnt its anterior edgeyit is `(,)byjos ythatthe entire weight of -the Aoperetta?or working l,load is --thrown 4uponthe front.V edge ofthe wing through the levers and links, so that this weightV coinbined with the muscular energy imparted through thefhand'and foot levers is exerted to drive the wings downwardl and up# wardly, alternately. It is obvious that the down stroke of the wing develops a lift,- and that the up stroke develops a downward l pressure on the top of the wing, and unless the mechanical construction of the machine and the arrangement of its parts is such as to convert,4 these reactions into forward thrust or drift, themachine would stay on the ground as a resultant ofthe lift and depression. Lift and forward thruvst. or drift are'secured in'this mechanism on both the up and down stroke of the wing by the structure and arrangement of pa'rts as described above. A a l ln order to more fully exemplify the action of the apparatus it is necessary to point out in detail the relation of the wings to the frame and the'working load, which secures the desired result.l 'Ehe fore and att width of the' wing :is such. as to bring the -1:

of the wing,

center of pressure on the wings to the rear oit.' the center of gravity ot' the trame and working iced. This center of pressure on lthe wing', operating over the i'ore and aft gravityo the frame and working load, as

a second lever arm, tends to rotate the center of gravity of the entirety in a path circumscribing the anterior edge of the wings as an axis. This rotation serves an important purpose. On the down stroke the pressure under the wings causes the entirety to rotate upward around the 'front edge of the wings and the frame, as an axis, developing a lift and causing the wing to assume a negative angle, thus presenting its under surface rearwardly.4 This brings about a rearward thrust and a forward drift; On

the up stroke ci: the wings, the wei .ht of the operator is thrown upon the han s, land a pull is exerted upward by the feet which are strapped to the pedals, and a push is exerted downward by the hands. This throws the weight ot the operator and his muscular energy upon the front edge .of the wing at 5 as shown in Fig. 2. This causes the wing to strike upwardly and develop a downward pressure upon the upper surface.5 This pressure, operating over the leverages above described, causes the center ot gravity of the frame and working load to rotate down- .ward around the front edge of the wings and frame as an axis, thus causing the wing to assume a posltive angle, and to present its upper surface rearwardly, more or less.

This rear presentation ot the wing eiieots backward thrust on the air, causing a forward' drift of the machine. This forward movement causes the under surface of the wing lto impinge upon the air, thus developing a lift. As g result of the peculiar construction of the mechanism and the arrangement of its parts, `the beating of the Wings causes the entirety to thus oscillate around the front edge of the wings and the frame, developing a lift and forward drift, both upon the up and down strokes, causing' the. entirety to pursuev sinuous path through the air. The rearward action of the wines 'upon the air, takes place largely toward tiie tips of the wings, this result being due to -the triangular shape of the wings, and their fore and aft and lateral eurvatures, Awhich cause the air to roll toward the tip from the frame, and outwardly and rearwardly from the tip, while it flows in at all other points. It follows from the conformation of the wings above defined, that at all times in o eration an area of low pressure is 'termed aiiove the wings and an area of high pressure, relatively, is formed beneath the wings, producing strong lifting action.

It is obvious that lateral stability is sccured by beating one wing vfaster than the other, when necessary, owing to increasing reactions upon the opposite side. Fore and aft stability is secured by shitting the center of gravity fore und aft, by shitting the hands along the hand levers, thus leaning the body fore or aft as the may require.

What claim as new, is: i

l. In an airship, a body having a pair of transversely disposed wings hinged thereto, two foot levers, rigid links extending respectively from the foot. levers to the wings at points outside the hinges thereof, two hand levers, and rigid links extending respectively from the hand levers to the wings at points inside the hinges thereof.

2. In an airship, a body having a pair of transversely disposed wings hinged thereto, two foot levers, links extending respectively from the foot levers at points intermediate of the ends thereof and to the wings at points outside the hinges thereof; and two hand levers connected to the wings at points intermediate of the ends or' the hand levers.

3. In an airship, a body having a pair ot transversely disposed wings hinged thereto, two independent foot levers, and links extending respeetively from the foot levers at points intermediate of the ends thereof and to the wings at points Aoutside the hinges thereof.

4. In an airship,a body having a pair of transversely disposed wings hinged thereto, twoindependent hand levers pivotally connected with the body, and links whereby the hand lovers are connected to the wings at points intermediate of the ends ot the hand levers.

5. -In-an airship, a body hav'ng a air of transversely disposed wings hinged tihereto, two foot levers, links extending 'respectively1 from the t'oot levers at points intermediate of the ends thereof and to the wings; and two hand levers connected to the wings' at points intermediate. of the ends of the hand levers. i

Signed at the city of Los Angeles, State of California, this 18th day of February, 1909.

HARRY LA [VERNE TwiNiNo.

Witnesses:v F. R. HAW'LEY J. YS. Zunnn. 

